NAIROBI — A radical cult televangelist in Kenya who led more than 400 people, including children, to their deaths through fasting and forced executions has been convicted of the murders, which came to light in 2023.
The televangelist, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, 53, of the Good News International Church, and 28 others were convicted of murdering 191 people, all but one of them children. Hundreds of bodies, of adults and children, have been exhumed in Kenya’s Shakahola Forest, where his group was based.
When the cases emerged, President William Ruto said that systemic failures on the part of the government were in part to blame for the deaths, amid criticism from activists that officials should have figured out what was happening and intervened sooner. But Kenyan authorities have not confirmed whether anyone has faced discipline related to the case.
“How could such deaths go unnoticed?” asked Francis Auma, a rights activist who participated in the rescue of dozens of victims. “It’s laxity on the side of the government that led to these deaths, and government officials who are responsible should be held accountable.”
In April 2023, bodies of young children, including toddlers, and of entire families were exhumed in the Shakahola Forest. Other mass graves were discovered, some more recently dug. Kenya’s interior minister then described the situation as a “massacre.”
Mackenzie’s co-defendants were mostly senior church members, according to court documents.
“I am satisfied that the prosecution has proved the case,” Judge Diana Kavedza said in court Monday. “I reject the defense by the accused persons that the victims who were all below the age of 16 years voluntarily fasted to death. I accordingly find all the 29 accused persons guilty as charged.”
Mackenzie denied the charges.
Associates said Mackenzie started out as a street hawker, then worked as a taxi driver and as a farmer before becoming a pastor.
He amassed thousands of followers by appearing on television and delivering online sermons. Some of those sermons attacked vaccination campaigns. Schooling and modern health care were prohibited for his followers.
The cult relocated into Shakahola Forest, the court was told, in part because of doomsday prophecies and because of fear of mandatory vaccination during the covid pandemic.
In the forest, church leaders forced members to fast, and some who attempted to escape were killed, according to evidence presented during the trial. Some church members nearing death from hunger were suffocated to speed the process, according to evidence.
“There were cases of death by asphyxia, manual neck compression and traumatic head injury,” the judge said. “These deaths involved direct physical violence.”
Esther Salama said her husband, Kahindi Kazungu Garama, was one of Mackenzie’s assistants. Salama said she escaped with her five children after weeks of fasting and they were rescued from a roadside.
“I did not want me or my children to die,” she said.
Robert Simon Katana, 51, who lost his entire family — his wife, Delena Kafadzi, 40, and three children — said he recovered only one son’s body, through DNA sampling.
Kafadzi was introduced to the cult by her sister and left home with her children without Katana’s knowledge, he said, prompting him to search for them in the forest. Katana testified in court about his family’s experience.
Kenya is 80 percent Christian, and churches hold widespread sway.
Ruto is fond of quoting scripture in public gatherings. His 2022 election win was largely pegged on promises of uplifting livelihoods, and he centered his campaign partly on his religious beliefs.
James Karisa, 32, a grave digger who helped pull out the bodies, told The Washington Post that he was haunted by the discoveries.
“I still have a hard time sleeping,” he said. “Nobody should ever let it happen again.”
Last year, at least 50 more bodies linked to the cult’s activities were exhumed in Kwa Binzaro, a village about 20 miles from Shakahola. Mackenzie, already jailed, was accused of coordinating the cult activities that led to the deaths from his prison cell.
The post As Kenya convicts cult leaders of mass murder, activists blame wider failures appeared first on Washington Post.
